Latest news with #CityofBrantfordCouncil
Hamilton Spectator
25-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Council endorses plan for Gretzky Parkway extension
City of Brantford Council endorsed a plan to extend Wayne Gretzky Parkway north of Powerline Road during their Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. As the lands north of Powerline Road get developed and the population continues to grow, the City has been looking into various solutions to help mitigate traffic congestion throughout the area. Having looked at different options, staff ultimately presented Council with a plan to extend Wayne Gretzky Parkway north of Powerline Road (sitting parallel to Highway 24/King George Road) where it will curve and meet up with Park Road North. The plan includes replacing the current three-way intersection at Powerline Road and Wayne Gretzky Parkway with a new four-leg roundabout, as well as a new four-leg roundabout where the newly extended Parkway will meet with Highway 24. The report explained that the extension will feature a four-lane configuration with a median in the middle and a multi-use path on the east side of the extension. As well, the roundabouts will be two lanes and designed to accommodate large vehicles, such as transport trucks and farm vehicles. While staff currently estimate that the project will cost around $8.5 million, the price could change as the plan is currently in its preliminary stages. The final cost will be refined through the preliminary design and detailed design phases. According to the report, which was submitted by Jennifer Elliott, the City's Director of Engineering Services, both the city's population and employment are expected to experience significant growth by 2051. 'Brantford's anticipated growth will notably impact local travel demands,' she said. 'By 2051, the city is projected to generate over 89,900 person trips during the A.M. peak period on an average weekday, reflecting a 72 per cent increase from the 52,616 person trips recorded in 2016.' As outlined in the 2020 Transportation Master Plan Update, the traffic conditions of Brantford's existing arterial and collector road network were observed during typical weekday peak hours, and the following key issues were identified: As well, the King George Road overpass over Highway 403 is expected to face high traffic demand, with over 60 per cent of the traffic using the route due to regional travel on Highway 403 or Highway 24. 'Adding an extra lane in each direction on King George Road would result in significant property impacts,' said Elliott. 'To alleviate congestion, diverting long-distance traffic from King George Road to Wayne Gretzky Parkway via a potential future extension north of Powerline Road would ease capacity issues near Highway 403 interchange and along King George Road.' If the plan is passed during an upcoming City Council meeting at the end of May, staff will be directed to issue a notice of completion and will open the 30-day public review period. 'The public will have an opportunity to, during that 30-day review, to provide comments, concerns or issues with the preferred solution,' said Mike Abraham, Brantford's Manager of Infrastructure Planning. 'Staff will then respond to each and one of those comments, and that will be made part of the filing to the MECP [Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks].' During the meeting, Councillor Richard Carpenter said that he hopes that as traffic increases along Wayne Gretzky Parkway, staff will consider putting in some sort of sound barrier to help with the noise. 'When we re-did Lynden Road and widened it to four lanes from two lanes and put in a centre turning lane; we put in a beautiful sound barrier wall for the residents who backed onto Lynden,' he said. 'It's been there for well over 25 years now, and if you look at it, it's easy to maintain. So, I would like us to use that as an example going forward.' Councillor Dan McCreary then thanked staff for their work, saying that the presented plan seemed to make sense. 'Councillor Martin and I were at the public hearings, and this option was well received,' he said. 'It certainly makes a lot of sense, even though there will be some disruption in the immediate neighbourhood once we get underway.' While the item was unanimously carried and Council will still have to give final approval later this month, residents will still have an opportunity to express their thoughts and concerns. Kimberly De Jong's reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at .
Hamilton Spectator
06-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Brantford Council approves grant application for Galileo Boulevard project
City of Brantford Council officially approved a $5,100,593 grant application for the Galileo Boulevard project during its regular Council meeting on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. The project includes one seven-storey building with 188 rental units and one commercial unit, and another seven-storey building with 128 rental units. 'After more than four years of planning, engagement and perseverance, we're proud to share that construction has officially gotten underway on our project,' said Daniel Bragagnolo, of Ninco Developments Inc. 'The development consists of over 300 units of much needed rental units in the community, including 56 of those projected to be under and below market rents.' Bragagnolo said none of this would be possible without the power of collaboration. 'We understand how critically accessible housing is in today's market, but projects like this don't happen in isolation, they rely on the collaboration between developers, municipalities and all levels of government,' he said. The project is possible to the City's Greyfields Community Improvement Plan, a financial incentive program that was put in place by the prior Council in 2021. It encourages the re-development of underutilized greyfield sites (previously developed commercial properties that are vacant or underused), and includes a property tax increment grant (TIG) to help support the development of mixed commercial and residential units. 'The Greyfields CIP enables the municipality to offer a Property Tax Increment Grant (TIG) program that will rebate a defined percentage of the municipal portion of the increase in property taxes resulting from a redevelopment project. Eligible redevelopment projects include new buildings or substantial additions to existing buildings that add new residential units,' read the report from Nicole Wilmot, Brantford's General Manager of Community Development. 'The new units must result in an increase in the assessed value of the property, as determined by Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC). The grant is issued as an annual tax rebate for a period of up to a maximum ten years. The grant does not refund any portion of the Provincial Education taxes applied to the property. The tax increment grant program is structured to provide grants through one of three streams according to the type of project, with enhanced grants provided for projects that include affordable housing units.' Bragagnolo said programs like this are important when it comes to projects such as this one. 'The greyfield program is so valuable in supporting projects like ours, especially during what has been dubbed the riskiest part of these rental projects, being the first seven to ten years of operations,' said Bragagnolo. 'It really enables us to offer meaningful affordability in a way that sends a strong signal that the City of Brantford is serious about playing a part in the housing solution. We're not just building housing, we want to build community and we're investing in the long-term growth and sustainability of it.' Mayor Kevin Davis said he was overall pleased with the outcome. 'I'm very pleased to see that the work of the prior Council is now paying dividends for us, and we're seeing a development that is proceeding; I've been talking to staff, and the developer is moving along quite quickly with their site plan control,' he said. '…It's great to see this development proceeding with 316 rental units in total, and frankly, without this policy and this graduated tax rebate program, I'm pretty confident we wouldn't be seeing this development. We would not be seeing 316 units, we wouldn't be seeing the economic impact with the construction of these two significant buildings, and after eight or nine years, the City will be better off by about a million dollars a year. It's your classic cliche of 'win, win, win.'' Now that the application is approved, it will grant the developers an estimated total of $5,100,593 over a maximum of ten years for completion of both buildings. Kimberly De Jong's reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at .
